Nancy hates that she can’t tell her mother the whole truth. But, then she’d likely look like a crazy person and end up being sent to a therapist. In all honesty after everything she’d witnessed, a therapist wasn’t such a bad idea. But, she doesn’t mention it. Doesn’t mention the monsters or the demons. The Upside Down or being stuck in that void where she’d witnessed the absolute worst thing she’d ever seen. And she misses Mike. That was something she never thought that she’d say.
“Max…” She sighs and shakes her head. “She’s in a coma Mom. She’s at the hospital.” She tells Karen softly and sighs. The plan had gone so badly so fast when Jason and his goons had showed up. Of course, Nancy hadn’t wanted them to die but, if they hadn’t shown up then they might have been able to save Max. And she can’t even mention Eddie. That was what hurt the most. That she’d lost another friend.
“Yeah. Steve said he’d call.” She assures her. “I don’t think his parents are home, so I don’t know if he’s gonna stay with Robin or…” She shrugs. She was glad that even after her and Steve had broken up, that he was still welcome into the house and the family. At the mention of food, Nancy shakes her head. “I don’t remember.” She speaks honestly. “Do you want any help?” She asks her. “Or I can just hang with Holly.”
Her eyes grow wide for another heartbeat, lips opened to form a silent O. There is not much Karen can say, nothing at all if she is honest. As a mother her heart constricts imagining the pain the Mayfields might go through right now, but as a mother she can also not let that pain enter her heart at once. A crushing wave that might pull her under. There is surely nothing worse than fearing for the life of your own children.
“I am so sorry to hear that, darling”, she reaches her hand out once more, gently caressing her daughter’s shoulder. Max was a friend of the family, a friend of Mike’s. “We will send something to her mother and if the family allows it - and all this has settled - you surely can visit her. Mike will want to go, too.” Her middle child being far away with Joyce throughout all of this is truly the only thing that brings Karen solace that day. “And I am sure the doctors will do whatever they can. You are brave Nancy, always have been, and keeping up hope is the bravest thing one can do.”
She offers up one last reassuring smile before making her way into the kitchen. “Well then dinner it is. I am sure ice cream can wait a bit longer”, she sees the sad face on her youngest and simply smiles, one hand on Holly’s head in passing. “And we will just double the serving to make up for it.” Normally she is not this lax when it comes to eating unhealthy food, but if it helps to keep her childrens’ minds off of what is happening on the other side of their frontdoor she is more than happy to make an exception. “I do not think I will need help tonight, honey.”, Karen calls back to Nancy, “You should rest. But I am sure Holly will appreciate the company” Karen does not really know where her husband is right now, out in the town for all she cares, and she herself is tired after a night of worrying. But making dinner for her family is always something she relishes, a simply yet true act of love.